Logitech dropping support for the older Harmony remotes

[lovinthehd]

It is far more flexible and gives you far more options. We watch a lot of UK TV and connect to our VPN daily and often several times daily. We don't want to pay for Apple TV. If you had our system you would realize how limiting your system is. Ours is far, far better. You have no idea how limiting your options are.
The other issue is that only one of our three TVs is SMART. The great room and family room TVs are older Panny plasmas and have no apps. So they are just end of the line units. They are now 17 years old. That is why I am furious about the short live of my previous AVPs. By the way the AVPs in those two rooms are the same age.

This is if your options are watching UK tv via vpn? I do neither. Don't see how that makes my setup limited for my purposes (and most peoples'). Not an apple fan otoh.

 

[TLS Guy]

This is if your options are watching UK tv via vpn? I do neither. Don't see how that makes my setup limited for my purposes (and most peoples'). Not an apple fan otoh.

It is very likely suitable for your purposes, but I grab streams from around the world. For me the way other members connect their systems to the "world wide web" would be very limiting, for me and my wife. My eldest son does it the way we do also.

Unless you actually experienced the way we do it, you would not realize how actually limited you are.

 

[lovinthehd]

It is very likely suitable for your purposes, but I grab streams from around the world. For me the way other members connect their systems to the "world wide web" would be very limiting, for me and my wife. My eldest son does it the way we do also.

Unless you actually experienced the way we do it, you would not realize how actually limited you are.

I don't consider it a limitation, just something I have little desire to do (but can on a laptop or other device and cast it if I need to). Just see a pc setup as more difficult in terms of access/ergonomics.

 

[TLS Guy]

I don't consider it a limitation, just something I have little desire to do (but can on a laptop or other device and cast it if I need to). Just see a pc setup as more difficult in terms of access/ergonomics.

Actually it is not. It is very simple and fits in well with the way we now organize our lives. At our hospital we were very early adopters of this new digital technology. In our home we installed our first computer in 1984. That is now 41 years ago. I first included a computer in my audio system in 2002, now 23 years ago. So to me it just seems the most obvious and versatile way of going about it.

It is easier and cheaper than ever now. This Beelink is tiny and even contains the power supply, which is not external. They are very inexpensive. We have just replaced our office computer with one of those, and it is more powerful than the big box it replaced. So the only connection is the AC lead and an HDMI lead to the AVP. Those Logitech radio keyboards are very handy and cost $30. Then you plug an SDR dongle into the back of the Beelink. It is all very neat and works perfectly for our purposes.

It is simple and very easy to use. I have been doing this since I built my first HTPC. Prior to the Beelink I used a little NUC in "my wife's" system, but the power supply was external. That was swapped out because of the Windows 11 deadline.
It is really handy to be able to use your TVs as computers and open a web page. It is very easy to show guests and visitors photographs or anything else you want to show them. I personally think every TV should be able to go to the web, but what we do, does just that, and I can't begin to tell you how useful that is.

 

[Trell]

It is very likely suitable for your purposes, but I grab streams from around the world. For me the way other members connect their systems to the "world wide web" would be very limiting, for me and my wife. My eldest son does it the way we do also.

Unless you actually experienced the way we do it, you would not realize how actually limited you are.

But we do know how that works because we do that on our desktop systems and mobile phones. It's a bit like using the right tool for the job.

 

[Trell]

Actually it is not. It is very simple and fits in well with the way we now organize our lives.

It's a great fit for you and your family in your particular setup, but that does not necessarily mean that it's a great fit for everybody else as you claim.

It's about various use cases with needs, wants and requirements. This is the point you repeatedly fail to understand and condescendingly dismiss with phrases like "computer illiterate" and "simple and very easy".

At our hospital we were very early adopters of this new digital technology. In our home we installed our first computer in 1984. That is now 41 years ago. I first included a computer in my audio system in 2002, now 23 years ago. So to me it just seems the most obvious and versatile way of going about it.

I got my first computer around that time as well as a teenager and used it for games, applications and programming. I've been a professional software developer for decades, so I'm not only a user, and unlike you I try to understand what my users wants, needs and require. That's part of my job.

So the only connection is the AC lead and an HDMI lead to the AVP.

You're using WiFi on the HTPC? I thought you used LAN for every device and your Beelink has dual 1000 Mbps LAN ports.

 

[TLS Guy]

It's a great fit for you and your family in your particular setup, but that does not necessarily mean that it's a great fit for everybody else as you claim.

It's about various use cases with needs, wants and requirements. This is the point you repeatedly fail to understand and condescendingly dismiss with phrases like "computer illiterate" and "simple and very easy".



I got my first computer around that time as well as a teenager and used it for games, applications and programming. I've been a professional software developer for decades, so I'm not only a user, and unlike you I try to understand what my users wants, needs and require. That's part of my job.



You're using WiFi on the HTPC? I thought you used LAN for every device and your Beelink has dual 1000 Mbps LAN ports.

I forgot that one, there is a LAN ethernet cable to the Beeline and all our PCs except the mobile devices.

 

[highfigh]

Not sure I follow. There is nothing that anyone with elementary computer skills could not figure out.

I have labelled all units on the AV 10 as to what they are when you press the button. Cable/sat says what it is, and the disc players are labelled. If you press the media player then it says HTPC. So if the TV input is set to HDMI, the TV acts like any Windows computer. You put in the code and then the main screen comes up. You open a web page and then you go to the site you want. So there is nothing particularly special to learn to get to what most people would use in everyday life and at work. If you are at all computer literate and can use a simple remote there should be nothing complicated about operating our systems. The unit in the Great room is simplicity itself. It uses this Beelink computer, that comes loaded with Windows 11. If the system has eARC then they can easily use their Smart TV apps, and when they press the TV audio button, then the sound will come from their audio system.

I would bet that if you set up your systems to use whatever the customer is using for their TV service, one of those Beelinks, and a disc player they would be happy and figure it out quickly. If not, then you have some very illiterate customers.

Read your first sentenjce and ask youself if that's as common as you think it is.

The thing that makes a universal remote popular is the fact that, with one button press, it turns on any equipment used in an activity (or all of it), waits for the AVR to be ready to accept the input command, turns the TV on, turns on the device needed for the activity and if a different TV input was used last, switches that so the user only needs to select a channel or push play.

The hardest part of programming is understanding how the user(s) think- many just don't understand what they need to do and trying to make them understand what's happening is out of the question for a lot of people. You should see the reactions when people see the cables and wires behind the scenes- they just turn and walk away and I have actually seen installers react that way, or become incredibly, and needlessly, agitated by the cables. Some of us just say "They all have to go somewhere, so let's get going".

If you can, go to the shop where you buy equipment and be the 'fly on the wall', so you can hear the questions and comments from people. It will be less likely to hear cluelessness if that place is only open by appointment, but it would be an eye-opener.

 

[highfigh]

Actually it is not. It is very simple and fits in well with the way we now organize our lives. At our hospital we were very early adopters of this new digital technology. In our home we installed our first computer in 1984. That is now 41 years ago. I first included a computer in my audio system in 2002, now 23 years ago. So to me it just seems the most obvious and versatile way of going about it.

It is easier and cheaper than ever now. This Beelink is tiny and even contains the power supply, which is not external. They are very inexpensive. We have just replaced our office computer with one of those, and it is more powerful than the big box it replaced. So the only connection is the AC lead and an HDMI lead to the AVP. Those Logitech radio keyboards are very handy and cost $30. Then you plug an SDR dongle into the back of the Beelink. It is all very neat and works perfectly for our purposes.

It is simple and very easy to use. I have been doing this since I built my first HTPC. Prior to the Beelink I used a little NUC in "my wife's" system, but the power supply was external. That was swapped out because of the Windows 11 deadline.
It is really handy to be able to use your TVs as computers and open a web page. It is very easy to show guests and visitors photographs or anything else you want to show them. I personally think every TV should be able to go to the web, but what we do, does just that, and I can't begin to tell you how useful that is.

What do you use for mass storage? Isaw the Beelink ad and it shows 500GB.

I have several Logitech K400r keyboards and they all have randomly zoomed the screen, moved the cursor and the mouse pad has become insensitive, even after new/known good batteries were installed. Have you experienced any of these?

So, you don't need an external antenna for the SDR dongle? I saw some with an SMA antenna, which would be great for homes in areas where reception is difficult or the construction of the home/building doesn't allow RD to enter with usable signal strength. .

 

[Trell]

The thing that makes a universal remote popular is the fact that, with one button press, it turns on any equipment used in an activity (or all of it), waits for the AVR to be ready to accept the input command, turns the TV on, turns on the device needed for the activity and if a different TV input was used last, switches that so the user only needs to select a channel or push play.

Exactly! I've had an RF-based Logitech Harmony remotes for over fifteen years and no way I would want multiple remotes for daily use. Even more so for my family.

 

[TLS Guy]

What do you use for mass storage? Isaw the Beelink ad and it shows 500GB.

I have several Logitech K400r keyboards and they all have randomly zoomed the screen, moved the cursor and the mouse pad has become insensitive, even after new/known good batteries were installed. Have you experienced any of these?

So, you don't need an external antenna for the SDR dongle? I saw some with an SMA antenna, which would be great for homes in areas where reception is difficult or the construction of the home/building doesn't allow RD to enter with usable signal strength. .

I have had zero issues with my keyboards.

I have 8 switches to throw manually before I even start the AVP, otherwise breakers would blow. I have to use magnetic shunt breakers as well. I do not want the complications of a sequencer, and I am quite content to throw the switches manually. It is no trouble at all. In the other systems one dutton turns on the AVPs and the power amps. Then you just turn on the unit you want to use. It is easy.

 

[lovinthehd]

Actually it is not. It is very simple and fits in well with the way we now organize our lives. At our hospital we were very early adopters of this new digital technology. In our home we installed our first computer in 1984. That is now 41 years ago. I first included a computer in my audio system in 2002, now 23 years ago. So to me it just seems the most obvious and versatile way of going about it.

It is easier and cheaper than ever now. This Beelink is tiny and even contains the power supply, which is not external. They are very inexpensive. We have just replaced our office computer with one of those, and it is more powerful than the big box it replaced. So the only connection is the AC lead and an HDMI lead to the AVP. Those Logitech radio keyboards are very handy and cost $30. Then you plug an SDR dongle into the back of the Beelink. It is all very neat and works perfectly for our purposes.

It is simple and very easy to use. I have been doing this since I built my first HTPC. Prior to the Beelink I used a little NUC in "my wife's" system, but the power supply was external. That was swapped out because of the Windows 11 deadline.
It is really handy to be able to use your TVs as computers and open a web page. It is very easy to show guests and visitors photographs or anything else you want to show them. I personally think every TV should be able to go to the web, but what we do, does just that, and I can't begin to tell you how useful that is.

For you and your use perhaps, but you're not exactly representative of an average av enthusiast either. I just see no advantage for my use....and can see many others like something simpler.

 

[TLS Guy]

What do you use for mass storage? Isaw the Beelink ad and it shows 500GB.

I have several Logitech K400r keyboards and they all have randomly zoomed the screen, moved the cursor and the mouse pad has become insensitive, even after new/known good batteries were installed. Have you experienced any of these?

So, you don't need an external antenna for the SDR dongle? I saw some with an SMA antenna, which would be great for homes in areas where reception is difficult or the construction of the home/building doesn't allow RD to enter with usable signal strength. .

I don't use the Beeline for mass storage. It is essentially a streamer. The HTPC in the AV room has a large storage drive, but I don't store much on it. It is the DAW that has mega storage with external drives for audio files. The DAW is run from all wired controls at the editing and production desk.

I don't have any trouble with the keyboards connecting to the AV HTPC or the Beeline. Both the Beeline and HTPC have USB dongles in a USB port with no antenna extensions. We have had zero connection issues to the Beeline, the NUC before or our HTPC. Me and my wife do a lot of streaming these days, and it all works very well.

It seems those Safabatons, to replace the Harmony devices require significant set up. I think I can get on fine without those as me and my wife always have. I have had no issues with out Logitech keyboards and the batteries last a very long time.

I can see why those universal remotes are going out of favor. I suspect the popularity of sound bars and eARC is the cause. The problem with TVs as streamers, is you are app. dependent, and different brands support different selections of apps. I find the whole arena a bit of a mess currently, and another reason for people to avoid AV. I do have a lot of concerns about the survival of the AV market, sound bars excepted. It will be a dark day, if we reach the point where the only options are TV speakers or a soundbar. I hope that is not where things are headed, but I'm afraid of it. Complexity is a barrier, and as you point out the wiring, which takes planning to hide it from view, and often home modification.